Biography

Richard Anthony "Tony" Bickford is a Guatemalan citizen and a graduate of Rice University. He has both a Master of Civil Engineering specializing in Structural Engineering and a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering. He has 24 years of experience in his profession and has served as the President of Grupo Precon, a 46-year old family business for the last 8 years. Grupo Precon is a group of companies that work in the construction industry in 6 countries in Central America. The companies that comprise the group are PRECON, which is the regional leader in light and heavy precast concrete company; CONSULTA which is one of the largest construction companies and specializes in design/build construction projects in Central America; and MONOLIT which is a company that produces wire and wire mesh, and also has a retail chain for construction products comprising of about 40 stores. The group´s vision is to be present at each job site making the construction experience easier. The group employs approximately 4,000 talented people. Tony worked his way up through the company starting on the floor and holding many progressively responsible positions over the years. Tony always liked engineering and decided on civil engineering because his family business was in construction. His future goals include continuing in his current role but expanding the business and doing more direct real estate development that will take him all the way to delivery to the final user. His key to success has been to balance hard work with family life and personal time. He never takes anything for granted and always keeps thinking how to do the the job better the next time. Innovation is in his blood stream as his companies own 3 patents for construction systems. Tony is also part of several boards in important organizations and companies. One is AGIES which is the organization in charge of producing construction code for Guatemala; also in Tritech, which is a company involved in the distribution of high performance industrial lubricants in 14 countries in America; and also in the financial sector, he is a board member of ARREND, a Central American company that deals mainly in the leasing industry. Tony says his greatest achievement has been maintaining balance in life through the different stages; running and growing a company at the same time of being a husband and a good father of four and still having time to give back to society while keeping a healthy life, both physically and spiritually. Tony looks forward to collaborating with fellow members.